Is it OK to use powdered graphite to lubricate a garage door opener

I found the answer at http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/garages/msg0321575526348.html?38 - here it is:

First off you don't have to replace the worm gear. Second, you need to make sure that the bushings in the gear kit are not worn. You can tell by looking and the very top of the unit, you will see ground up metal, or on the top of your drive gear will have a bunch of ground up metal. If this is the case you will need to get a 41C4220A which is the complete gear kit.

Otherwise replacing the gear is a cinch.

1. Unplug the opener and pull the cover off.
2. You will see two roll pins in the shaft that the gear slides onto. Position the gear so that you can use a 5/32nd punch to drive out the bottom roll pin. Your gear maybe worn enough that you can grab it by hand and position it, or you may have to hit the opener button and stop it so that it is in position.
3. At the bottom of that shaft you have a smaller gear that drives the limit assembly. Pull the triton shaped keeper out and slide it off the shaft.
4. Remove the limit switches. They snap into the bottom of the motor housing. You remove them by lightly squeezing them together on the end closest the gear you just removed. Leave all the wires connected to the limit switches. Unplug the RPM Sensor. It is located to the left of that big black cup on the back of the motor shaft, it has a four pin connector.
5. On the left and right side of the motor housing you will see four black bolts holding the motor housing up. Use a 5/16th socket and remove all four of them.
6. Slide the motor housing off the shaft (you can let the motor hang) and then the gear slides off.
7. Lube up the new gear with the grease in the box and reverse the above procedure.
8. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE BLACK CUP ON THE BACK OF THE MOTOR SHAFT PRESSED ALL THE WAY ON AND THAT THE FOUR PIN CIRCUIT BOARD NEXT TO IT IS PLUGGED IN, OTHERWISE IT WON'T WORK PROPERLY.*

Check the bushing in the motor housing that the gear shaft slides through, sometimes this has to be replaced but, very rarely in my experiences.

Don't worry about using anything else in that box.

Does your garage door opener plug into an outlet located nearby? If so the answer is yes, you can just use a plug mounted protector. It does not need to be specific to your opener model or type:

But if you've had a problem like this, your better bet may be a Whole House unit. And your best bet is to use both.

I created a little guide Whole House surge protection over here: http://obviously.com/1482/Whole-House-Surge-Protectors (I was working on protecting a fire alarm and some boiler motors, but the principle is the same).

Be warned that "power strip surge protectors, despite impressive sounding warranties, have a limited record in protecting devices. Some are poorly designed, others are actually fraudulent knock offs". The whole house ones are only made by respected companies and they do actually work.